JP7813652B2 - toner cartridge - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a toner cartridge to be installed in an image forming device, such as a digital multifunction peripheral installed in a workplace.

Toner cartridges are installed in image forming devices such as digital multifunction peripherals. When installed in an image forming device, the toner cartridge supplies the toner contained inside to the developing device. Once the toner cartridge is used up, it is removed from the image forming device and reused. In this case, any remaining toner inside the toner cartridge is cleaned out.

When filling a toner cartridge with toner, the toner is filled through a filling port located at one end of the toner cartridge's length. After filling with toner, the filling port is sealed with a cap. On the other hand, when cleaning the remaining toner inside the toner cartridge for reuse, for example, the cap on the filling port is removed, air is sucked through the filling port, and outside air is introduced into the toner cartridge through a vent located on the opposite end of the length.

After cleaning the toner cartridge, when refilling it with toner for reuse, the vent is sealed with a cap and the toner is refilled through the filling port.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-24958

Using the method of cleaning toner by circulating air inside the cartridge, as in the conventional toner cartridge mentioned above, makes it difficult to thoroughly clean toner that has adhered to the paddle or auger.

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a toner cartridge that can be cleaned of residual toner when reused.

The toner cartridge according to the embodiment includes a toner container, an agitator, a first cover, and a gear . The toner container has a filling port for filling with toner, a supply port for supplying toner, and a first outlet, which is a circular hole that penetrates one end of the container in the longitudinal direction, separate from the filling port and the supply port. The first outlet is large enough to allow the agitator to be removed in the longitudinal direction. The agitator is disposed inside the toner container, has a first rotating shaft disposed in the longitudinal direction, and agitates the toner inside the toner container. The first cover has a first bearing hole coaxially therewith , through which one end of the agitator's first rotating shaft rotatably passes, and is structured so as to be rotatably attached to the first outlet so as to close the first outlet. The gear is disposed outside one end of the toner container facing the toner container, and is coaxially attached to one end of the agitator's rotating shaft via an elastic member. One of the first lid body and the gear has an engaged portion on a surface facing the other of the first lid body and the gear, and the other of the first lid body and the gear has an engaging portion on a surface facing the one of the first lid body and the gear that engages with the engaged portion by pushing the gear in the longitudinal direction toward the first lid body with elastic deformation of the elastic member. With the engaging portion engaged with the engaged portion, the first lid body and the gear can rotate together.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a digital multifunction peripheral, which is an example of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the image forming unit of the digital multifunction peripheral of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a toner cartridge according to an embodiment to be mounted in the digital multifunction peripheral of FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the main part of the toner cartridge of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the toner cartridge shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state before the paddle gear of FIG. 5 is pushed in. FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the state in which the paddle gear of FIG. 5 is pushed in. FIG. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a modification of the toner cartridge of FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the main part of FIG.

Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The digital multifunction peripheral 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of an image forming apparatus. The digital multifunction peripheral 10 has many functions, including a printing function, a scanning function, a copying function, and a facsimile function. The printing function is a function for forming a toner image on paper. The scanning function is a function for reading an image from an original. The copying function is a function for printing an image read from an original using the scanning function onto paper P using the printing function. The facsimile function is a function for printing an image based on data received via a communication line onto paper P using the printing function, and for transmitting image data read from an original using the scanning function via a communication line.

The digital multifunction peripheral 10 has multiple paper feed cassettes 1, a manual feed tray 2, and multiple paper feed rollers 3. The paper feed cassette 1 stores multiple sheets of paper P to be used for printing. The manual feed tray 2 is used to manually feed multiple sheets of paper P stacked one on top of the other. The paper feed roller 3 removes the paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 1 one sheet at a time, and also removes the paper P placed on the manual feed tray 2 one sheet at a time.

The digital multifunction peripheral 10 has multiple toner cartridges 11, 12, 13, and 14, multiple image forming units 21, 22, 23, and 24, an exposure device 16, a transfer belt unit 30, and a secondary transfer roller 18. The digital multifunction peripheral 10 has multiple toner cartridges 11, 12, 13, and 14 above the transfer belt unit 30 as shown, and multiple image forming units 21, 22, 23, and 24 below the transfer belt unit 30 as shown.

Toner cartridges 11, 12, 13, and 14 contain toner of each color to be supplied to image forming units 21, 22, 23, and 24. The toner cartridge 11 on the far left in Figure 1 contains yellow toner. The toner cartridge 12, second from the left, contains magenta toner. The toner cartridge 13, third from the left, contains cyan toner. The toner cartridge 14 on the far right contains black toner.

Toner cartridges 11, 12, 13, and 14 are detachably attached to digital multifunction printer 10. Toner cartridges 11, 12, 13, and 14 have substantially the same structure, except for the toner they contain. Therefore, as a representative example, we will explain toner cartridge 11, which contains yellow toner, and will omit explanations of toner cartridges 12, 13, and 14 of other colors. Toner cartridge 11 will be described in detail later.

Image forming units 21, 22, 23, and 24 receive toner from toner cartridges 11, 12, 13, and 14, respectively, and form toner images of different colors. Image forming unit 21, on the far left in Figure 1, forms a yellow (Y) toner image. Image forming unit 22, second from the left, forms a magenta (M) toner image. Image forming unit 23, third from the left, forms a cyan (C) toner image. Image forming unit 24, on the far right, forms a black (K) toner image.

The image forming units 21, 22, 23, and 24 have substantially the same structure except for the difference in toner. Therefore, the image forming unit 21 for yellow will be described here as a representative, and descriptions of the image forming units 22, 23, and 24 for the other colors will be omitted.
2, the image forming unit 21 that forms a yellow toner image includes a photosensitive drum 41, a charging unit 42, a developing device 43, a primary transfer roller 44, a cleaner 45, and a discharging lamp 46. The image forming unit 21 includes the charging unit 42, the developing device 43, the primary transfer roller 44, the cleaner 45, and the discharging lamp 46, arranged in this order facing the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 and along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 41 (the direction of the arrow in the figure).

The photosensitive drum 41 has a cylindrical surface that receives the light beam BY emitted from the exposure device 16. The light beam BY is a light beam based on yellow image data obtained by color-separating image data read from an original document by the scanner 70 (described below) or image data input from outside the digital multifunction peripheral 10. The exposure device 16 exposes and scans the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 with the light beam BY as the photosensitive drum 41 rotates, forming an electrostatic latent image based on the yellow image data on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41.

The charging unit 42 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 to a predetermined potential before exposure. The developing device 43 develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 using yellow toner TY supplied from the toner cartridge 11. That is, the developing device 43 supplies yellow toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 to form a yellow toner image.

The primary transfer roller 44 faces the surface of the photosensitive drum 41, with the transfer belt 31 of the transfer belt unit 30 sandwiched between them. The primary transfer roller 44 generates a transfer voltage between itself and the photosensitive drum 41. This transfer voltage causes the primary transfer roller 44 to transfer (primary transfer) the yellow toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 to the surface of the transfer belt 31, which is in contact with the photosensitive drum 41.

The cleaner 45 removes any yellow toner TY remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41. The discharge lamp 46 removes any remaining charge on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41.

The exposure device 16 shown in Figure 1 irradiates the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 41 of the image forming units 21, 22, 23, and 24 with light beams BY, BM, BC, and BK of the respective colors in accordance with the image data for each color that has been separated. The light beams BY, BM, BC, and BK of the respective colors are used to form images in yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively.

For example, the exposure device 16 controls the yellow light beam BY in accordance with yellow image data to form a yellow electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 of the image forming unit 21. Similarly, the exposure device 16 controls the three color light beams BM, BC, and BK in accordance with the magenta, cyan, and black components of the image data to form magenta, cyan, and black electrostatic latent images on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 of the image forming units 22, 23, and 24, respectively.

The transfer belt unit 30 has an endless transfer belt 31 and two rollers around which the transfer belt 31 is wound and tensioned. These two rollers are a driven roller 32 and a drive roller 33. The transfer belt unit 30 also has a tension roller for applying tension to the transfer belt 31. Rotation of the drive roller 33 causes the transfer belt 31 to rotate. By rotating counterclockwise in Figure 1, the transfer belt 31 transports the toner images of each color transferred from the image forming units 21, 22, 23, and 24 to the secondary transfer roller 18.

The secondary transfer roller 18 faces the surface of the drive roller 33 with the transfer belt 31 sandwiched between them, and generates a transfer voltage between it and the drive roller 33. This transfer voltage causes the secondary transfer roller 18 to transfer (secondarily transfer) the toner images of each color that have been transferred and superimposed on the surface of the transfer belt 31 onto a sheet of paper P that has been taken out of the paper feed cassette 1 or manual feed tray 2 and transported between the transfer belt 31 and the secondary transfer roller 18.

The digital multifunction peripheral 10 also has a fixing device 50. The fixing device 50 heats and presses the paper onto which the toner images of each color have been transferred. This fixes the toner images of each color transferred to the paper P to the paper P. The fixing device 50 has a heating roller 51 and a pressure roller 52 that face each other with the transport path of the paper P sandwiched between them.

The heating roller 51 is equipped with a heat source for heating the heating roller 51. The heat source is, for example, a heater. The heating roller 51, heated by the heat source, heats the paper P to the toner melting temperature. The pressure roller 52 applies pressure to the paper P passing between the pressure roller 52 and the heating roller 51.

The digital multifunction peripheral 10 also has a paper output tray 61, a duplex unit 62, a scanner 70, a document feeder 80, and a control panel 90.

The paper output tray 61 receives paper P that has been printed and ejected. The duplex unit 62 prepares the paper P so that it can be printed on the back side. For example, the duplex unit 62 uses a roller or other device to switch back the paper P, thereby inverting it and sending it into the secondary transfer area between the transfer belt 31 and the secondary transfer roller 18.

Scanner 70 reads an image from a document. For example, scanner 70 reads the image using an optical reduction method with an imaging element such as a CCD (charge-coupled device) image sensor. Alternatively, scanner 70 reads the image using a contact image sensor (CIS) method with an imaging element such as a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) image sensor.

The document feeder 80 is also called, for example, an ADF (auto document feeder). The document feeder 80 picks up documents (not shown) placed on a tray 81 one by one and transports them one by one through the document glass 82. The scanner 70 reads the image of the document transported to the document glass 82.

The control panel 90 has buttons and a touch panel for operation by the operator of the digital multifunction device 10. The touch panel is a stack of a display, such as a liquid crystal display or organic EL display, and a pointing device that accepts touch input. Therefore, the buttons and touch panel function as input devices that accept operations by the operator of the digital multifunction device 10. In addition, the display on the touch panel functions as a display device that notifies the operator of the digital multifunction device 10 of various information.

The toner cartridge 11 will be described below mainly with reference to FIG.
3, the toner cartridge 11 according to one embodiment includes a toner container 100, a paddle 120 (a stirring member), and an auger 130 (a conveying member). In the following description, terms indicating directions and positions, such as "front and rear" and "horizontal," are based on the state in which the toner cartridge 11 is installed in the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

The toner container 100 has a container body 102 and a lid body 101. The container body 102 has a generally U-shape in cross section perpendicular to its longitudinal direction. The container body 102 has a front wall 1021 at its front end in the longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a rear wall 1022 at its rear end in the longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The container body 102 also has a generally rectangular opening 1023 on its top surface. The lid body 101 closes the opening 1023 of the container body 102. The lid body 101 has an upwardly convex roof shape. The toner container 100, which is made by joining the container body 102 and the lid body 101, has a long, narrow box shape from front to back.

At the front of the bottom of the container body 102 is a supply unit 103 equipped with a supply port (not shown) for supplying toner to the developing device 43. The supply port is a roughly rectangular hole that opens downward from the supply unit 103. The supply port is sealed with a sealant 106. The sealant 106 is removed from the supply port when the toner cartridge 11 is used. The supply unit 103 is equipped with a shutter 107 that can open and close the supply port. At the front of the supply unit 103 is a bearing 1031 that rotatably receives the front end 132 of the rotation shaft 1301 of the auger 130 (described below).

The front wall 1021 of the container body 102 is provided with a filling port 104 for filling the toner container 100 with toner. The filling port 104 is a circular hole that penetrates the front wall 1021. After filling the filling port 104 with toner, it is sealed with a cap 150. The cap 150 is detachable from the filling port 104 of the container body 102. When attached to the filling port 104, the cap 150 functions as part of the front wall 1021 of the container body 102.

The rear wall 1022 of the container body 102 has an outlet 111 (first outlet) for removing the paddle 120. The outlet 111 is a circular hole that penetrates the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102. The outlet 111 has an inner diameter large enough to allow the paddle 120 to be inserted axially. The outlet 111 has a female thread 113 (Figure 4) on its inner surface for threading the lid body 110.

The container body 102 is equipped with a substantially disc-shaped lid body 110 (first lid body) that closes the outlet 111. The lid body 110 has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the outlet 111. The lid body 110 is detachable from the outlet 111. The lid body 110 has a male thread 112 (Figure 4) on its outer peripheral surface that screws into a female thread 113 on the inner peripheral surface of the outlet 111. By screwing the lid body 110 into the outlet 111, it can seal the outlet 111 and functions as part of the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102. The lid body 110 has a bearing hole 105 (first bearing hole) through which the rear end of the rotation shaft 1201 of the paddle 120 is rotatably inserted. The bearing hole 105 is a hole that passes through the center of the lid body 110.

The paddle 120 has a rotation shaft 1201 (first rotation shaft) and an agitating blade 1202. The agitating blade 1202 extends from the rotation shaft 1201 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft 1201. The paddle 120 is disposed inside the toner container 100 with the rotation shaft 1201 oriented along the longitudinal direction of the toner container 100. The front end 121 of the rotation shaft 1201 is rotatably disposed within a bearing portion 151 provided on the front wall 1021 of the container body 102 adjacent to the filling port 104. The rear end of the rotation shaft 1201 has a connecting portion 122. The paddle 120 rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the front. The paddle 120 agitates the toner contained inside the toner container 100 by rotating.

The auger 130 has a rotation shaft 1301 (second rotation shaft) and a screw blade 131. The screw blade 131 extends spirally around the rotation shaft 1301. The auger 130 is arranged inside the toner container 100, parallel to and adjacent to the paddle 120, with the rotation shaft 1301 oriented along the longitudinal direction of the toner container 100. The front end of the auger 130 is arranged above the supply port and within the supply section 103 of the toner container 100. The front end 132 of the rotation shaft 1301 is rotatably arranged within a bearing section 1031 provided in the supply section 103. The rear end of the rotation shaft 1301 has a connecting section 133. The auger 130 transports toner between the screw blades 131 to the supply section 103 by rotating.

The paddle 120 is equipped with a scraping member 140. The scraping member 140 is attached in a cantilevered manner to the long side of the paddle 120, radially opposite the rotation axis 1201 of the agitating blade 1202. The scraping member 140 is an elastic, rectangular sheet-like member. The scraping member 140 has approximately the same length in the axial direction as the agitating blade 1202. The scraping member 140 has multiple notches 141 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis 1201.

As the paddle 120 rotates, the free edge of the scraping member 140 opposite the agitating blade 1202 is pressed against and slides against the inner wall of the toner container 100. The scraping member 140 curves with its free edge pressed against the inner wall of the toner container 100. As the paddle 120 rotates, the scraping member 140 moves while in contact with the bottom of the inner wall of the toner container 100. As a result, the scraping member 140 sends toner toward the auger 130.

The toner cartridge 11 is equipped with a gear unit 160 facing the outside of the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102 of the toner container 100. The gear unit 160 includes a paddle gear 161 fixed to the rotation shaft 1201 of the paddle 120, and an auger gear 162 fixed to the rotation shaft 1301 of the auger 130. The gears on the outer peripheries of the paddle gear 161 and the auger gear 162 are meshed with each other. Therefore, the auger gear 162 rotates in response to the rotation of the paddle gear 161. In other words, the auger 130 is linked to the paddle 120.

The paddle gear 161 has a connecting shaft 163 that protrudes forward. The connecting shaft 163 is located at the center of rotation of the paddle gear 161. The connecting shaft 163 rotatably passes through a bearing hole 105 provided in the lid 110 of the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102. The connecting shaft 163 is inserted into the bearing hole 105 with a seal ring 165 (elastic member) attached. The seal ring 165 seals the gap between the connecting shaft 163 of the paddle gear 161 and the bearing hole 105 to prevent toner leakage. The connecting shaft 163 is fixed to the connecting portion 122 of the rotating shaft 1201 of the paddle 120. The connecting shaft 163 functions as one end of the rotating shaft 1201 of the paddle 120. The function of the seal ring 165 will be described in detail later.

The auger gear 162 has a connecting shaft 164 that protrudes forward. The connecting shaft 164 is the center of rotation of the auger gear 162. The rear wall 1022 of the container body 102 has a bearing hole (not shown here) through which the connecting shaft 164 rotatably passes. The connecting shaft 164 is inserted into the bearing hole with a seal ring 166 attached. The connecting shaft 164 is fixed to the connecting portion 133 of the rotating shaft 1301 of the auger 130.

Here, the procedure for assembling the above-mentioned toner cartridge 11 will be described.
When assembling the toner cartridge 11, first, the supply port provided in the supply section 103 of the container body 102 is sealed with the sealing material 106, and then a shutter 107 is attached to the supply section 103. Then, the lid body 110 is screwed onto the removal opening 111 provided in the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102 to close the removal opening 111.

The paddle 120 and auger 130 are then placed inside the container 102. At this time, the front end 132 of the rotating shaft 1301 of the auger 130 is inserted from the inside into the bearing 1031 provided in the supply section 103 of the container 102, and the auger 130 is placed inside the container 102. Furthermore, the front end 121 of the rotating shaft 1201 of the paddle 120 is inserted from the inside into the bearing 151 provided in the front wall 1021 of the container 102, and the paddle 120 is placed inside the container 102.

Next, the gear unit 160 is attached to the outside of the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102. At this time, a seal ring 165 is attached to the connecting shaft 163 of the paddle gear 161, and the connecting shaft 163 is inserted into the bearing hole 105 of the lid body 110 attached to the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102. The connecting shaft 163 of the paddle gear 161 is then inserted into the connecting portion 122 provided at the rear end of the rotating shaft 1201 of the paddle 120 to connect and fix them. In addition, a seal ring 166 is attached to the connecting shaft 164 of the auger gear 162, and the auger gear 162 is meshed with the paddle gear 161, and the connecting shaft 164 of the auger gear 162 is inserted into the bearing hole in the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102. Furthermore, the connecting portion 133 provided at the rear end of the rotation shaft 1301 of the auger 130 and the connecting shaft 164 of the auger gear 162 are connected and fixed.

Finally, the lid 101 is placed over the container 102 to close the opening 1023, and the container 102 and the lid 101 are joined by thermal welding around the entire periphery of the opening 1023. When filling the toner cartridge 11 assembled as described above with toner, the toner is filled through the filling port 104 in the front wall 1021 of the container 102, and the cap 150 is attached to the filling port 104 to seal it.

Next, the procedure for removing the lid 110 provided on the outlet 111 of the paddle 120 and the structure for doing so will be described with reference to FIGS.
When reusing the toner cartridge 11, it is necessary to clean the toner remaining inside the toner storage body 100. At this time, the worker removes the lid body 110 attached to the rear wall 1022 of the container body 102 and pulls out the paddle 120 from the toner storage body 100 through the outlet 111. The worker then cleans the toner storage body 100 and the paddle 120 separately by, for example, blowing air onto the paddle 120 pulled out from the toner storage body 100 and the inside of the toner storage body 100.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the lid 110 has a male thread 112 on its outer periphery. The outlet 111 of the toner container 100 has a female thread 113 on its inner periphery. The lid 110 can close the outlet 111 by screwing it into the outlet 111. When closing the outlet 111, the direction in which the lid 110 is rotated is the same as the rotation direction of the paddle 120. In other words, the male thread 112 of the lid 110 and the female thread 113 of the outlet 111 are threaded in a direction in which the lid 110 screws into the outlet 111 when the lid 110 is rotated in the same direction as the rotation direction of the paddle 120. In this embodiment, this direction is clockwise when viewed from the rear of the toner cartridge 11. Conversely, to remove the lid 110 from the outlet 111, simply rotate the lid 110 counterclockwise when viewed from the rear of the toner cartridge 11. By threading in this direction, it is possible to prevent the lid 110 from rotating in a direction that would loosen it due to rotation of the paddle 120.

The lid 110 has two cylindrical dowels 114 (engagement portions) positioned radially outward from the center of its rear surface 1101. The paddle gear 161, which is arranged coaxially with the lid 110, has two circular mating holes 115 (engaged portions) that fit over the two dowels 114 of the lid 110. The two dowels 114 and the two mating holes 115 are positioned so that they can be arranged coaxially in the axial direction. Therefore, by rotating the paddle gear 161 relative to the lid 110, which is fixed to the rear wall 1022 of the toner container 100, the two mating holes 115 of the paddle gear 161 can be aligned with the two dowels 114 of the lid 110.

As shown in Figure 5, the paddle gear 161 is attached to the lid 110 by attaching a seal ring 165 to the connecting shaft 163 and then inserting the connecting shaft 163 into the bearing hole 105 of the lid 110. Then, the connecting shaft 163 of the paddle gear 161, which protrudes forward through the bearing hole 105 of the lid 110, is connected to the connecting portion 122 provided at the rear end of the rotating shaft 1201 of the paddle 120.

In this state, there is an axial gap S1 between the front end 1631 of the connecting shaft 163 of the paddle gear 161 and the bottom surface 1222 of the receiving hole 1221 of the connecting portion 122 of the rotating shaft 1201 of the paddle 120. There is also an axial gap S2 between the front surface 1611 of the paddle gear 161 and the rear surface 1101 of the lid 110. Therefore, the paddle gear 161 can be pushed axially into the lid 110 against the elastic force of the seal ring 165.

The axial width of the gap S2 between the paddle gear 161 and the lid 110 is largely determined by the thickness of the seal ring 165 attached to the connecting shaft 163 of the paddle gear 161. In other words, the gap S2 can be made sufficiently large by increasing the axial thickness of the seal ring 165. In this embodiment, the thickness of the seal ring 165 was selected so that the height at which the two dowels 114 protrude rearward from the rear surface 1101 of the lid 110 when the paddle gear 161 is not pressed in as shown is smaller than the width of the gap S2. Note that in this embodiment, a small gap is also provided between the rear surface 1651 of the seal ring 165 and the paddle gear 161 to provide play between the two.

When removing the lid 110 from the outlet 111 of the toner container 100, the worker first rotates the paddle gear 161 to a position where the two dowels 114 of the lid 110 face the two fitting holes 115 (only one of which is shown) of the paddle gear 161, as shown in FIG. 6. Then, the worker pushes the paddle gear 161 forward in the axial direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7 from the position shown in FIG. 6 toward the lid 110, fitting the two dowels 114 into the two fitting holes 115. In this state, the worker rotates the paddle gear 161, rotating the lid 110 integrated with the paddle gear 161, and removing the lid 110 from the outlet 111 of the toner container 100.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the removal opening 111 provided on the rear wall 1022 of the toner container 100 can be opened and closed using the lid 110. Therefore, when reusing the toner cartridge 11, the paddle 120 can be pulled out of the toner container 100 through the removal opening 111. This allows the toner adhering to the paddle 120 to be cleaned after it has been pulled out of the toner container 100, and the cleaned paddle 120 can be attached to the inside of the toner container 100 through the removal opening 111.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the removal opening 111 for removing the paddle 120 is provided on the rear wall 1022 of the toner cartridge 11, so the lid 110 will not be inadvertently removed when the toner cartridge 11 is installed in the digital multifunction printer 10. Furthermore, because the lid 110 is designed to be removed by rotating it relative to the removal opening 111, the lid 110 will not be inadvertently removed from the removal opening 111 even when the toner cartridge 11 is not installed in the digital multifunction printer 10.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the direction in which the lid 110 is rotated when removing it from the outlet 111 is opposite the direction in which the paddle 120 rotates. This prevents the lid 110 from being rotated in a direction that loosens it due to the rotation of the paddle 120 when the toner cartridge 11 is in use. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when removing the lid 110, the paddle gear 161 is aligned with the lid 110 and pushed in, allowing the lid 110 to rotate integrally with the paddle gear 161, making the removal of the lid 110 easier and improving workability.

In addition to the paddle 120, the toner cartridge 11 of the above-described embodiment is equipped with the auger 130, which is a component that makes it difficult to thoroughly clean the toner. Because the surfaces of the paddle 120 and auger 130 are uneven, it is difficult to clean the toner that has adhered to the recesses. For this reason, to thoroughly clean the toner cartridge 11 for reuse, it is desirable to remove the auger 130 from the toner container 100 and clean it, just like the paddle 120.

Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts of a modified version of the toner cartridge 11 described above. The toner cartridge 11 of this modified version has an outlet 201 (second outlet) for removing the auger 130 in the rear wall 1022 of the toner container 100. That is, the rear wall 1022 has an outlet 201 for removing the auger 130 in addition to the outlet 111 described above for removing the paddle 120. For ease of understanding, the paddle 120 and paddle gear 161 are not shown in Figure 8.

The inner surface of the outlet 201 has a female thread 202 for threading onto the lid 210 (second lid). The outer surface of the lid 210 has a male thread 211 that threads onto the female thread 202 of the outlet 201. The lid 210 closes the outlet 201 by threading onto it, and functions as part of the rear wall 1022. The lid 210 has a bearing hole 212 (second bearing hole) through which the connecting shaft 164 of the auger gear 162 passes.

When attaching the auger gear 162, a seal ring 166 is attached to the connecting shaft 164 of the auger gear 162, and the connecting shaft 164 is inserted into the bearing hole 212 of the lid 210, which is threaded into the outlet 201 of the rear wall 1022 of the toner container 100. At this time, a washer 213 is placed between the lid 210 and the connecting portion 133 of the auger 130. The connecting shaft 164 of the auger gear 162 is then connected and fixed to the connecting portion 133 of the auger 130.

As shown in Figure 9, when the auger gear 162 is attached, there is an axial gap S3 between the front end 1641 of the connecting shaft 164 of the auger gear 162 and the bottom surface 1332 of the receiving hole 1331 of the connecting portion 133 of the auger 130. On the other hand, there is no gap in front of or behind the seal ring 166 attached to the connecting shaft 164. Therefore, the auger gear 162 can be pushed forward in the axial direction from the state shown in the figure, accompanied by elastic deformation of the seal ring 166.

Between the lid 210 and the auger gear 162 are a dowel and fitting hole (not shown here) that function in the same way as in the above-described embodiment. Therefore, by pushing the auger gear 162 against the restoring force of the seal ring 166 to fit the dowel into the fitting hole, and then rotating the auger gear 162, the lid 210 can be rotated and removed from the outlet 201.

As described above, according to this modified example, when reusing the toner cartridge 11, the lid 210 can be removed from the outlet 201, and the auger 130 can be pulled out of the toner container 100 for cleaning, allowing for more thorough cleaning of the toner.

The above-described embodiments and their variations are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above-described embodiments and variations can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The above-described embodiments and their variations are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims, as well as within the scope and spirit of the invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment and modified examples, the gear and lid are engaged using a dowel and a mating hole, but this is not limiting. The gear and lid may also be engaged using a wedge-shaped protrusion and mating hole that engage when the two are rotated relative to one another. The number of bosses and mating holes is not limited to two, and at least one pair is sufficient. Alternatively, instead of providing a boss or wedge-shaped protrusion, a bottomed hole coaxial with the gear's mating hole may be provided on the outer surface of the lid, and a dedicated tool may be inserted through the hole to rotate the gear and lid together.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an attachment structure in which the lid body is screwed into the fitting hole is described, but this is not limited to this, and a structure in which the lid body is pressed into the outlet may also be used, as long as the lid body can be removed from the outlet and can seal the outlet with the lid body.
The inventions described in the claims of the present application as originally filed are as follows:
[1]
a toner container having a filling port for filling the toner, a supply port for supplying the toner, and a first outlet provided at one end in a longitudinal direction separately from the filling port and the supply port, and configured to contain the toner;
an agitating member disposed inside the toner container, having a first rotation shaft disposed in the longitudinal direction, and agitating the toner inside the toner container;
a first cover body having a first bearing hole through which one end of the first rotating shaft of the stirring member is rotatably inserted, the first cover body being detachably attached to the first outlet so as to close the first outlet having a size that allows the stirring member to be removed in the longitudinal direction;
A toner cartridge having
[2]
a conveying member disposed inside the toner container next to the stirring member, the conveying member having a second rotation shaft disposed in the longitudinal direction, and conveying the toner inside the toner container to the supply port;
the toner container has a second outlet at the one end in the longitudinal direction, separate from the first outlet, the second outlet being large enough to allow the conveying member to be removed in the longitudinal direction;
the container further includes a second cover body having a second bearing hole through which one end of the second rotary shaft of the conveying member is rotatably inserted and which is detachably attached to the second outlet so as to close the second outlet;
[1] Toner cartridge.
[3]
the first outlet is a circular hole penetrating the one end of the toner container;
the first lid body has a structure that can be attached to the first outlet by rotating coaxially with the first bearing hole,
[1] Toner cartridge.
[4]
a rotation direction when the first lid body is attached to the first outlet is the same as a rotation direction of the stirring member;
[3] Toner cartridge.
[5]
a gear disposed outside the one end of the toner container so as to face the one end, and coaxially attached to the one end of the rotation shaft of the stirring member via an elastic member;
one of the first lid body and the gear has an engaged portion on a surface facing the other of the first lid body and the gear, and the other of the first lid body and the gear has an engaging portion on a surface facing the one of the first lid body and the gear that engages with the engaged portion by pushing the gear toward the first lid body in the longitudinal direction with elastic deformation of the elastic member;
When the engaging portion is engaged with the engaged portion, the first cover body and the gear are rotatable together.
[3] or [4] toner cartridge.

10...digital multifunction peripheral, 11, 12, 13, 14...toner cartridge, 100...toner container, 102...container body, 105, 212...bearing hole, 1022...rear wall, 110, 210...lid body, 111, 201...extraction port, 120...paddle, 130...auger, 140...scraping member, 161...paddle gear, 162...auger gear, 165, 166...seal ring.

Claims (3)

a toner container having a filling port for filling the toner, a supply port for supplying the toner, and a first outlet which is a circular hole provided separately from the filling port and the supply port and which penetrates one end in the longitudinal direction, and which contains the toner;
an agitating member disposed inside the toner container, having a first rotation shaft disposed in the longitudinal direction, and agitating the toner inside the toner container;
a first cover having a first bearing hole coaxially therewith , through which one end of the first rotating shaft of the stirring member is rotatably inserted, and having a structure that can be detachably attached to the first outlet by rotation so as to close the first outlet having a size that allows the stirring member to be removed in the longitudinal direction;
a gear disposed outside the one end of the toner container so as to face the one end, and coaxially attached to the one end of the rotation shaft of the stirring member via an elastic member ;
one of the first lid body and the gear has an engaged portion on a surface facing the other of the first lid body and the gear, and the other of the first lid body and the gear has an engaging portion on a surface facing the one of the first lid body and the gear that engages with the engaged portion by pushing the gear toward the first lid body in the longitudinal direction with elastic deformation of the elastic member;
When the engaging portion is engaged with the engaged portion, the first cover body and the gear are rotatable together.
Toner cartridge. a conveying member disposed inside the toner container next to the stirring member, the conveying member having a second rotation shaft disposed in the longitudinal direction, and conveying the toner inside the toner container to the supply port;
the toner container has a second outlet at the one end in the longitudinal direction, separate from the first outlet, the second outlet being large enough to allow the conveying member to be removed in the longitudinal direction;
the container further includes a second cover body having a second bearing hole through which one end of the second rotary shaft of the conveying member is rotatably inserted and which is detachably attached to the second outlet so as to close the second outlet;
2. The toner cartridge of claim 1. a rotation direction when the first lid body is attached to the first outlet is the same as a rotation direction of the stirring member;
2. The toner cartridge of claim 1 .